Hey guys! My friends and I arranged a little writing meeting, so we have proceeded with writing. We are also on summer break, (at last) so we will have a lot of time to write. I am also working on a second fanfiction, so stay tuned. I will be leaving for Japan in 5 days, so I will probably write while on the plane. I am juggling a lot of writing at the moment, I'm writing an original story, a personal fanfiction, a group fanfiction (April 18th), and another one that I am editing for. So, a little tied up. Well, I hope that you enjoy the chapter.
Saya woke up laying on top of an uncomfortable stone infirmary table. The sun had already set and she heard singing from the amphitheater. She saw the tall flames of the campfire licking at the sky.
Her forearm was wrapped in blood-stained gauze. She turned her head and there was the giant snowy owl, calmly watching her as it perched not even two feet away. "Thanks a lot, Hedwig," she mumbled. It didn't answer.
"Nectar?" Jasmine handed her a glass full of what looked the same as apple juice. "Will Solace told me to give you this." She noticed her looking at Hedwig. "It wouldn't get away from you. I guess we have a new companion. What should we name it?"
"Are you kidding? Hedwig, of course. How could we not? It's destiny." She answered as she took a sip of the magical drink. "Whoa. It tastes like liquid sushi." The tastes of Saya's favorite kind of sushi, maguro nigiri, whirled around in her mouth and she closed her eyes.
"It should," Allison pointed out. "It tastes like your favorite food, as I recall."
"No schist, Sherlock," She said testily. "I've read the books."
"Have some more nectar," Jasmine offered before they could get into an argument. "Blood loss makes people dehydrated and irritable."
"Thanks, Mrs. Flight," Saya said. Mrs. Flight was their science teacher.
"Just saying." Even as Jasmine defended her statement, Saya felt her anger and stress receding. Sushi made everything better.
"So. We now have a pet owl named Hedwig. Are we going to bring her on our quest?" Allison asked.
"Yes. She may not be Festus, but she will still be useful. I'm sure of it." Saya wondered if the owl was tamed. "Hedwig, fly over to another table and back," She ordered. To her immense surprise, Hedwig obeyed, looking at her with an expression that said quite clearly that she could do much better than this, and that this exercise of flying was a waste of time. A sassy owl sidekick. She could deal with that.
Hedwig perched on Saya's right shoulder, pecking at her hair as if trying to comb it.
"Hey! Stop that! My hair isn't a nest!" Saya said playfully as she gently nudged Hedwig away. Hedwig obeyed and backed off. Saya winced as a stab of pain went through her left forearm. Saya was reminded of the fact that this creature had attacked her. She decided that the unusually large animal had just been panicked, and hadn't meant to do it. Saya was usually forgiving, as long as the incident wasn't too big.
The campfire songs were starting to die down, replaced by soft chatter. Campers were starting to stream back to their cabins. "I guess we have to to go to our cabins, then. When in Camp Half-Blood, do as the Greeks," Allison said glumly. Saya remembered that Allison was the only one who hadn't been claimed yet.
"You'll be claimed by tomorrow," Jasmine assured her.
"How do you know?" She demanded.
"Because you're in the prophecy. I am pretty sure you have to be claimed before you go on a quest. Correct me if I'm wrong, Saya."
"You're right, as far as I know. Unless the rules have changed."
"We've got Romans here, remember? Doubt it," Jasmine said confidently.
More and more campers hurried past them. Chiron popped his head into the infirmary. "The Hermes Cabin is full, so you can take one of the tiny houses," Chiron offered and then trotted over to the Big House.
"Well, bye then." Allison turned and started walking slowly toward the tiny houses in the distance. If Saya were her, she would have dreaded the night too. If demigoddish nightmares came, she would like someone to wake her up. All alone, nobody could hear you scream.
Saya shook off that creepy thought. That was something Allison would say, not her. Or maybe Jasmine, as a strange joke. You could never tell when Jasmine was seriously warning them of danger or about to say some cheesy punchline. Yeah, Jasmine would totally say that she decided.
Jasmine left Saya to find out what the Hecate cabin was like. Saya sat there with Hedwig for a minute, stroking her soft feathers, and then joined the ever-thinning tide of campers to go to the Athena cabin. She got some strange looks because of the giant bird hovering above her shoulder, but she had other things to worry about.
Would the other Athena campers like her? She had always made the best grades possible, very Athena-like, but she never had any cool monster encounters or getting-kicked-out-of-school stories to share. The only monster she had ever seen she was nearly strangled by, and she had never even gotten detention before. She had never really gotten into much trouble. She had always tried to be responsible. Unless someone hurt her friends.
Technically, Saya had gotten detention for yelling and fighting bullies multiple times, but Saya always found a way to get out of it. She was good at persuasion- not as good as Piper, but she got by. Allison had been bullied many times for being the "Emo girl." So, naturally, Saya defended her. Allison could scream like an evil ghoul. When she did, Saya and Jasmine came running to help fend off the bullies. Allison and Jasmine had been with her since elementary school, and she didn't want to lose them. She had known her friends for so long that making new ones hadn't really been a necessary skill for a while.
Her apprehensive mind conveniently forgot that she had only gotten in a chokehold and nearly killed because she was trying to allow her friends to escape the bus with a monster on it, which was quite heroic. Banishing the disguised cyclops to Tartarus was a team effort.
Saya reached the Athena cabin. She recognized it by the six and the owl design over the gray front door. Hedwig regarded the carved owl contemptuously. Deep breaths, Saya, she told herself. She was about to step into the cabin that would be her home for the rest of her demigod life. But then, she heard Allison's chilling scream.
Did you enjoy the chapter? Please review and let us know. Thank you to AllisonSong and HazelHunterofArtemis for writing with me. Goodbye, my little sushirolls!